Friday, February 01, 2013

Sometimes dogs will care for orphaned kittens, dolphins will nudge
injured mates to the surface or tigers will feed tiny piglets. Usually,
the pictures of this altruism end up spammed across the Internet. Yet
now, scientists have found that it's not only animals that care for one
another. Plants show the same behavior.
So there was a study that the University of Colorado did where they examined corn and found out that the seed "contained two 'siblings'" which helped each other out. Harvard's Professor William Friedman tells James Fluere (Science Recorder), "The tissue in the seeds of flowering plants is what feeds the world. If flowering plants weren’t here, humans wouldn’t be
here."

So isn't that something?

It doesn't surprise me but I'm lucky because I heard an album that changed the way I saw plants years ago. My brother had it and introduced me to it. From WikiPedia:

Stevie Wonder's Journey Through "The Secret Life of Plants" is an album by Stevie Wonder, originally released on the Tamla Motown label on October 30, 1979 (see 1979 in music). It is the soundtrack to the documentary The Secret Life of Plants, directed by Walon Green which was based on the book of the same name by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird.[. . .]Such was Wonder's commercial appeal at the time that Journey went all way up to number four in the Rock and R&B Billboard charts in 1979, with the single Send One Your Love also reaching number four. It is now considered by many to be a classic in its own right[citation needed],
and has been cited by Wonder himself as one of his three favorite
albums: "'Secret Life' was an experimental project with me scoring and
doing other things I like: challenging myself with all the things that
entered my mind from the Venus's Flytrap to Earth's creation to coming
back as a flower." [9] It is also considered, in many listeners's minds, to be one of the earliest New Age albums of all time, mainly in part because of the nature and instrumental songs on the album.The album cover contained some braille, and when you unsealed and opened it, you smelled a flowery perfume.

That was an album that you had to puzzle over and it had me seeing plants in a whole new light. It's still a favorite of mine. On a rainy day when I can stay in, I especially like to listen to it.

A spokesperson for the Falluja protesters, Khaled Hamoud, tells Al-Shorfa,
"Today's demonstrations are no different from previous demonstrations
in terms of the demands and rights we are seeking. We hope that the
government will meet them and we are determined to continue our peaceful
demonstrations." Morning Star quotes
from Cleric Abdul-Hameed Jadoua who addressed the Falluja protesters
telling them "the blood of martyrs was shed so that the dignity of our
Iraq and our tribes will be restored. [. . .] From this place, we tell
the government that we do not want to see a soldier from now on, not
only in Fallujah, but in all its suburbs and villages." The Christian Science Monitor and Al Jazeera correspondent Jane Arraf Tweeted the following on the Falluja protest today.

Kitabat notes today's protests are a tribute to the Falluja martyrs who were killed last week.

Friday, January 25th, Nouri al-Maliki's armed thugs in Falluja fired on protesters killing at least seven (Alsumaria reported
Saturday that another of the victims has died from wounds raising the
death toll from six to seven) and sixty more were left injured. TodayKitabat reports four more victims of last Friday's violence have died
bringing the death toll to 11. Protesters in Falluja were marching and
taking part in a sit-in when the military opened fire on them. Anbar
Province has sworn out arrest warrants for the soldiers. Rami G. Khouri (Daily Star) sees similarities between Egypt and Iraq: The same applies to the tens of thousands of demonstrators in Iraq, who,
like their Egyptian counterparts, are protesting the killing of
demonstrators by the security services as well as a wider sense that the
central government is not addressing the socio-economic and political
rights of all citizens with diligence or fairness. In both cases, many
ordinary citizens feel that one group is trying to monopolize power and
seize control of the state. The Iraqi and Egyptian leaders have both
acted with an authoritarianism that remind us of their predecessors’
policies in many ways., which Arabs now wish to leave behind them for
good.Dar Addustour notes that Nouri met for six hours mid-week with armed forces commanders to discuss/anticipate today's protests. Kitabat explains
that hundreds of thousands of Iraqis took part in protests today
throughout Anbar Province, Kirkuk Province, Nineveh Province, Diyala
Province and Salahuddin following morning prayers. Dar Addustour quotes
from Sheikh Abdul Hamid Jadou's sermon where he said that the prime
minister needed to hear the protesters. The Sheikh declared that
positions don't last, the world does not last but God watches and Nouri
needs to do the right thing. Alsumaria notes
that protesters in Kirkuk marched calling for government to implement
their demands and calling for loyalty to the Falluja martyrs and that the heads of the tribal clans in Anbar, Salahuddin and Nineveh Province are declaring Nouri needs to listen to the protesters. Al Jazeera reports:Al Jazeera's Jane Arraf, reporting from Fallujah, said many had
walked for hours to attend Friday's protest and had turned the highway
into a mosque for the weekly prayers."Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is under increasing pressure to
listen to their demands," she said, adding that a lot of the protesters,
mostly young men, were unemployed and that a lot of them have been in
jail."They feel they've been neglected by the Shia government," she said.

World Bulletin observes, "The protests are evolving in the most serious test yet for Maliki and
his fragile government that splits posts among Shi'ite, Sunni and ethnic
Kurds, who were already deadlocked over how to share power for more
than a year." In a report for the Christian Science Monitor, Jane Arraf explains:The Anbar demonstrations began in December, with protesters demanding an
end to perceived targeting of Sunni Muslims after the arrest of the
Sunni finance minister’s bodyguards on terrorism charges. But it is the
arrests of dozens of Iraqi women that have infuriated many in this
fiercely tribal area. That anger has spread to Sunni areas in Baghdad and to provinces farther north, and both Al Qaeda in Iraq and mainstream political figures have been quick to join the fray.

Most recently, in November, federal police invaded 11 homes in the
town of al-Tajji, north of Baghdad, and detained 41 people, including 29
children, overnight in their homes. Sources close to the detainees, who
requested anonymity, said police took 12 women and girls ages 11 to 60
to 6thBrigade headquarters and held them there for four days
without charge. The sources said the police beat the women and tortured
them with electric shocks and plastic bags placed over their heads
until they began to suffocate.Despite widespread outcry over abuse and rape of women in pre-trial
detention, the government has not investigated or held the abusers
accountable. In response to mass protests over the treatment of female
detainees, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki issued a pardon for 11
detainees. However, hundreds more women remain in detention, many of
whom allege they have been tortured and have not had access to a proper
defense.

On the topic of the call to release prisoners, this call has been a constant of the recent wave
of protests and was also a part of the 2011 protests. Iraqis disappear
into the 'legal system' and their families can't find them. Article IV
allows the security forces to arrest relatives of suspects. Relatives
who are not charged with anything languish in detention centers and
prisons. The Sunni population feels they are especially targeted by
Nouri --
both with regards to arrests and with regards to being put to death.

Staying with violence, as noted in the October 15th snapshot, Iraq had already executed 119 people in 2012. Time to add more to that total. Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) reported
last night that 10 more people were executed on Sunday ("nine Iraqis
and one Egyptian"). Tawfeeq notes the Ministry of Justice's statement
on the executions includes, "The Iraqi Justice Ministry carried out the
executions by hanging 10 inmates after it was approved by the
presidential council." And, not noted in the report, that number's only
going to climb. A number of Saudi prisoners have been moved into
Baghdad over the last weeks in anticipation of the prisoners being
executed. Hou Qiang (Xinhua) observes, "Increasing
executions in Iraq sparked calls by the UN mission in the country, the
European Union and human rights groups on Baghdad to abolish the capital
punishment, criticizing the lack of transparency in the proceedings of
the country's courts."

AFP reported
yesterday that already this year Iraq has executed 91 people -- yes,
we're still at the start of 2013 -- 88 men and 3 women. The United
Nations Secretary-General has personally called on Iraq to put in place a
moratorium on executions but Nouri al-Maliki has rejected that. Iraq's
recent prison breaks have often been tied to executions. Most press
outlets (non-Iraqi) simply report that some death row prisoners escaped.
But often, the escape follows the news that prisoners will be moved to
Baghdad (to be executed).

Today, All Iraq News adds
that Nouri al-Maliki gave an interview where he insisted that all
legitimate demands of the protesters will be listened to if they show
patience. Patience? Like when he asked them to be patient in 2011 and
give him 100 days to fix corruption and other problems. 100 day are
finally over and he hasn't done a damn thing but lie and use his lies to
get people off the street.

It's gonna rainIt's gonna rainIt's gonna rain down tearsOf heartaches and fearsIt's gonna rainIt's gonna rainI know for sure'Cause you don't reach for me no more-- "Clouds," written by Nickolas Ashford and ValerieSimpson, first appears on Chaka Khan's Naughty album

Just
like Nouri's going to solve the problems of the protesters, he's also
heading a committee to solve the problems of the rainfall.

Earlier week, Aswat al-Iraq reported people in the capitol were saying that "Baghdad was drowned in a lake of mud and dirty water."All Iraq News notes that the highest rainfall in recent days has been in Tuz Khurmato. That's in Salahuddin Province and that's the province, All Iraq News notes, where three villages are sinking. 2,000 homes have also sunk in Tikrit in what's being called "The Tikrit Disaster." All Iraq News notes
that a village in Salahuddin Province was threatened yesterday when a
dam collapsed and that 1500 families have been relocated by the Iraqi
Red Crescent Society due to the flooding. Alsumaria speaks
with Salahuddin Province Governor Ahmed Abdullah al-Jubouri who
explains that in the entire province, 6000 families have been evacuated
from their homes -- six-thousand families. The flooding is due to the
rain, yes, but it's also due to the fact that Nouri refuses to spend
money to improve the sewers and other infrastructure. So when heavy
rains fall, the water pools. It's not diverted anywhere, it doesn't
drain. When heavy rains fall for several days in a row -- as has
happened this week -- you end up with serious problems. For example,
the Tigris River is flooding. Alsumaria reports
that Salah Abdul Razzuq, Governor of Baghdad, has called for citizens
residing on and near the banks of the Tigris to evacuate their homes
because the last two days alone has seen the river's water levels rise
approximately 75%.

Again, this is about Iraq's crumbling
infrastructure. Iraq is not a poor country. What other country with
less than 30 million people can claim a federal government budget of 100 billion in US dollars?
The money is there to fix the infrastructure and do other needed
things. It's just not being spent as it needs to be. It just seems to
go quickly into the bank accounts of various Iraqi figures. 100 billion
dollars for 2012 in a country of less than 30 million? The government
could have just given every citizen 3 million in US dollars and still
had sizable pocket change. Instead, Kitabat reports
that you can find everyone scavenging in Baghdad through the waste --
the standing waste. Children dig through it hoping to find toys and
adults dig through it looking for anything they might sell to bring in
some needed income for their family. This standing waste, in the
country's capital, is an embarrassment and it's health menace. For
public health reasons alone, it should have been dealt with years ago.

Meanwhile Alsumaria notes
an armed attack in a Mosul home that's left 1 Iraqi soldier dead. On
the topic of violence, it is the end of the month and Prashant Rao (AFP)
Tweets:

(Vatican Radio) Pope Benedict XVI has granted ecclesiastical communion,
in accordance with Canon 76 § 2 of the code of canons of the Eastern
Churches to His Beatitude Raphael I Louis Sako, canonically elected
Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans in the Synod of Bishops of the
Church, held in Rome January 28, 2013.The Synod of Bishops of the
Chaldean Church, convoked by the Holy Father under the presidency of
Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental
Churches, canonically elected the Archbishop of Kirkuk, Patriarch of
Babylon of the Chaldeans on January 28th. The new patriarch succeeds
Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, and has chosen the name of Louis Raphael
Sako I".Born in Zakho (Iraq) July 4, 1948, Patriarch Sako completed
his primary studies in Mosul, before attending the local seminary of St.
John, run by the Dominican Fathers.Ordained a priest on June 1,
1974, he undertook the pastoral service at the Cathedral of Mosul until
1979. Sent to Rome, he attended the Pontifical Oriental Institute,
receiving his doctorate in Eastern Patristics. He later received his
doctorate in history from the Sorbonne in Paris. On returning to Mosul
in 1986, he was appointed parish priest of the Parish of Perpetual Help.From
1997 to 2002 he held the office of Rector of the Patriarchal Seminary
in Baghdad. He then returned to Mosul took over pastoral care of the
Parish of Perpetual Help until the election as Archbishop of Kirkuk
September 27, 2003. He received episcopal ordination on 14 November.He has published several books on the Fathers of the Church and several articles.Apart from Arabic and Chaldean, the Patriarch speaks German, French, English and Italian.More to follow...

Alsumaria covers the news and adds that Archbishop Sako is the author of over 200 articles and 20 books on religion and theology. AFP covers the news here. In 2000, the US Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services prepared a fact sheet entitled "Iraq: Chaldean Christians" which included the following:

Chaldean and Assyrian Christians have the same ethnic and linguistic
background, though as Eastern Rite Catholics, Chaldeans recognize the
primacy of the Roman Catholic Pope while Assyrian Christians, who are
not Catholic, do not (Journalist 17 May 2000; Minority Rights Group
International 1997, 346). The Assyrians and Chaldeans are non-Arab,
though the Iraqi government defines them as Arab, purportedly to
increase identification of Iraqi Christians with the largely Sunni-Arab
regime in Baghdad. The Kurdish government in northern Iraq refers, at
least to Assyrians, as Kurdish Christians (USDOS 9 Sept. 1999).[. . .]1994 figures state that 220,945 of Iraq's Christians are Chaldean,
though this number may now be down to 200,000 (UK Immigration &
Nationality Directorate Sept. 1999). News sources state that there are
anywhere from 500,000 to two million Christians in Iraq, of which
Chaldeans reportedly predominate (Associated Press 26 Dec. 1998; The Economist Intelligence Unit
10 Feb. 2000; Knight-Ridder Tribune News 18 Feb. 1998). The US
Department of State cites "conservative estimates" which place over 95
percent of Iraq's population, estimated at 17,903,000 in 1991, as
Muslim, while the remaining less than 5 percent is broken down among
Christians, Yazidis, and Jews (9 Sept. 1999).

Turning to
the United States where Senator Patty Murray is the Chair of the Senate
Veterans Affairs Committee. Today her office issued the following:

(Washington,
D.C.) -- Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray released the following
statement after the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) released a study
that provides more accurate information on veterans suicides. The
two-year study incorporates information from 42 states and includes data
on the suicide deaths of veterans who were not previously recorded
because they had not sought care or benefits from VA. This is an
important advancement that will help VA better understand veterans
mental health needs and do more to combat the epidemic of veteran
suicides. In August 2011
Senator Murray wrote to the National Governors Association urging
Governors across the country to provide information to the VA to help
them track the scope of veterans suicides.

"This data provides a
fuller, more accurate, and sadly, an even more alarming picture of
veteran suicide rates. And while I am encouraged that VA has worked to
collect the information needed to better understand the problem we face,
this must lead to action.

"I encourage VA and DoD to quickly
implement the Mental Health ACCESS act that I recently pushed through
Congress and that was signed into law this month. That law will help
streamline and improve suicide prevention programs while offering
veterans and their family's new avenues to mental health care.

"VA
also needs to do mroe to quickly bring on additional mental health
professionals to deal with the shortage veterans face, particularly in
rural areas. We cannot accept as unavoidable that VA facilities have
month-long wait times for appointments or that at-risk veterans feel
that they have nowhere to turn.

"We also need to do more to reach
out to the families of veterans so that they recognize warning signs,
know where to go for help, and have a support network of other veterans
and their families to lean on.

"This must not only be a top
priority for the VA, it has to be a top priority for the nation as a
whole if we are going to begin to make progress in reversing this deeply
troubling trend."###

Senator Richard Blumenthal: And I would like the same kind of
commitment that you've expressed very persuasively on the repeal of
Don't Ask, Don't Tell on the issue of sexual assaults. This issue
bedevils the military. I don't know whether you've seen an excellent
documentary entitled The Invisible War?Chuck Hagel: Yes.Senator Richard Blumenthal: And I know you're familiar with this
issue. I commend you for what you've said to me privately. And I would
ask that your commitment not only to the prosecution and holding
accountable people who are involved in this criminal conduct but also to
the victims so that they receive the kind of services that in the
civilian world, many of them do through victims' advocates in the courts
and similar kinds of roles played. So both to prosecution -- vigorous,
zealous -- but also to protection of the victims, can you commit to
that?Chuck Hagel: Absolutely, I'll commit to that.

And now
back to Iraq. Various outlets today turned out the notion that al
Qaeda in Iraq wanted to back the protesters and were calling for the
protesters to take up arms. Kitabat notes that the protesters rejected the notion. MWC adds, "Protest organisers in Ramadi, Fallujah and elsewhere, however, said that
they had no links to the group, and that they aimed to hold only
peaceful demonstrations."

Thursday, January 31, 2013

The fight this week was better handled. This week they argued over Nate -- an ex-boyfriend who wanted to see her because he had given up drinking. He was doing a 12-step program and wanted to make amends to Whitney.

Only he didn't. He threw out some words but then did what he really wanted to do: Trash Whitney, run her into the ground, make her feel bad about herself.

She told him off. Before that Alex was relieved because the 'hot' Nate was a pudgy, not-so-good-looking guy.

RJ warned him not to sell Nate short.RJ: Those are the guys you need to watch out for. If they can't use their face, they learn to use their mouth.Mark: So true. Wait! Am I ugly?

Mark and Roxanne, by the way are getting closer but still no date. I get the feeling they're going to have to be pushed together -- maybe get caught in a stuck elevator or something similar.

Whitney's best moment was her shoplifting from Nate's store (he still owed her $400). She does physical comedy so well but this season they really haven't allowed her to shine with any physical comedy. Even the pratfall at a college ended up being Alex a few episodes back.

Alex's best moment? Also physical. When he pushed Nate to the ground. It was funny because he doesn't do physical so it was so unexpected. But so right for Alex because Nate was trashing Whitney so Alex would do something out of character.

Thursday, January 31, 2013. Chaos and violence continue, Iraq confirms
they are holding a Le Monde journalist, flooding throughout Iraq, a dam
breaks, people are evacuated, former US Senator Chuck Hagel (Barack's
nominee to be US Secretary of Defense) appears before the Senate Armed
Services Committee, and more.

In the moment that probably
best captured 'support' for Chuck Hagel and his 'team skills' in today's
Senate Armed Services Committee, 85-year-old John Warner was pulled out
of mouthballs to drone on about Hagel ("of how he will serve the
president") this afternoon. Warner left the Senate four years ago.
And, if you know Warner (I do), you know if he's talking his time in the
Senate, he can't shut up about his attendance record. Some might point
out with that voting record, attendance is better focused on. But
that's what Hagel had to offer for his defense, a retired US Senator,
someone who only got into the Senate to begin with because of Elizabeth Taylor,
someone who thought small and played the country mouse in the big bad
Senate. That was what Hagel was reduced to: A geriatric with no notable
achievements singing his praises. The hair deserves remarking on as
well. Hagel probably thought he was wearing a longer Caesar cut but with
it bushing out on the sides it looked more like a modified Bea Arthur
from The Golden Girls era but with a tad more length in the back, it could have been a Maude.
But it seemed more Golden Girl, especially as he stumbled throughout
the hearing, often taking long pauses to complete his thought in the
midst of a sentence. Is Hagel mentally up to the challenge of being
Secretary of Defense?

We've noted before the position needs
someone with passion and energy and, for that reason, stated that former
US House Rep and Iraq War veteran Patrick Murphy should be considered
and US Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice should be considered
for the post. Those aren't the only two. But watching today as Hagel
looked like Bea Arthur and testified like Deputy Dawg, the issue of energy level needs to be raised.

In
the questioning, Committee Chair Carl Levin was most concerned with the
issue of the relationships between the governments of Iran and the US
and whether Hagel could reconcile his various positions over the years
on sanctions. Hagel stated he was for sanctions -- when they were
multi-lateral. But he admitted he had opposed unilateral sanctions in
the past.Senator Chuck Hagel: As to my records on votes in
the Senate regarding unilateral sanctions, I have differed on some of
those. I have voted for some as well. Uh, it was always on a
case-by-case basis when I, uh, voted against some of those unilateral
sanctions on Iran. It was a different time. For example, I believe one
was in, uh, 2001, 2002. We were in a different place with Iran during
that time. Matter of fact, uh, I recall the Bush administration did not
want a renewal -- a five-year renewal of ILSA [the Iran and Libya
Sanctions Act of 1996] during that time because, uh, they weren't sure
of the effectiveness on sanctions. That, uh, wasn't the only reason I
voted against it. It was because I thought that there might be other
ways to, uh, employ-employ our, uh, vast ability to harness power and
allies. It was never a question of did I disagree with the objective.
The objective is, I think, very clear uh-uh to both of us. Uhm, I
recall for example in, uh, 2008, Secretary of State [Condi] Rice sending
a letter to the Finance Committee, Senator [Max] Baucus requesting
that, uh, a sanction resolution, unilateral, in the Finance Committee,
not come out of the, uh, Finance Committee because the Bush
administration at the time was working with the, uh, Russians
specifically but with the Security-Council of the United Nations to try
to get international sanctions which, I think, that effort in 2008 led
to the, uh, 2010 international sanctions

Committee Chair Carl
Levin: Can you give us your view on the size of the US force which might
be necessary, or would be necessary, after 2014? The so-called
'residual force,' if you have an opinion on the size. You indicated in
your opening statements, two missions for that residual force. Can you
also give us your opinion of the size of the Afghan National Security
force after 2014 and whether you agree with me and Senator Lindsay
Graham on this Committee and others that we ought to reconsider the
position that the Afghan National Security Force should be reduced by a
third starting in 2014 -- to about 230,000 from what it's current goal
is which is about 350,000.

Chuck Hagel: Uh, as you all, uh,
know now, General Allen has presented his options to the president for
the president's consideration. As far as I know, as of this morning,
the president had not made a decision, uhm, uh, on what a residual force
-- numbers-wise -- would look like? I have not been included inn those
discussions, so I-I don't know other than knowing that he's got a range
of options as you do. But I would say that from what the president has
told me, what Secretary Panetta has told me, that that decision will
be made to assure resourcing the mission and the capability of that
mission. As to, uh, what kind of a force structure should, uh,
eventually be in place by the Afghans, I don't know enough about the
specifics to give you, uh, a good answer other than that I think that
has to be uh-uh a decision that is, uh, made certainly with the
president of Afghanistan, uh, what we can do to continue to support and
train and, uh, protect our interests within the scope of our ability to
do that. Obviously, the immunity for our troops is an issue which was
an issue in Iraq. All of those consider -- considerations will be --
will be important and will be made if I'm confirmed and in the position
to give the President advice on that. I will, with consultations of our
commanders on the ground and our chiefs, give him, the best, uh,
options that we can provide.

Hagel was willing to say
anything. Fortunately for him, the senators were, with few exceptions,
willing to play along and nod. Far too much time was spent on Israel --
that includes some very annoying testimony from Senators Jack Reed and
Kay Hagen who seemed to be in a competition over who would win Most
Loyal To Israel (Hagan won by a hair, if only because she could boast of
the most recent visit). Senators -- and those were just two of them --
felt the need to discuss Israel and what Hagel had told them privately
and how they were so glad to know that it would be an act of war for
Palestine to declare the area their own, that Hagel favored a two-state
solution and all the other sop that's always tossed out.

I find
Hagel's remark referring to the "Jewish lobby" objectionable. I've
stated that before. Hagel addressed that (more than once) in his
testimony. He said, on the record, that he mispoke and that it was one
time. For me, that one time on the record (answering on the record) was
more than enough. I found him to be believable on that issue because
he spoke in what I took to be an honest manner. Also true, he proved
himself to be a very poor speaker throughout his testimony. When
Senator Bill Nelson (I know Bill and like Bill) wasted everyone's time
giving Hagel a make up test (after he failed to answer Senator John
McCain's basic question), Hagel insisted his opposition to the 'surge'
in Iraq, "We lost almost 1200 dead Americans in the surge." The 'surge'
was an escalation, an increase, in the number of US troops on the
ground in Iraq following the 2006 elections. The 'surge' was a
failure. We'll talk about that in a moment but "We lost almost 1200
dead Americans in the surge"? We lost those dead Americans? And we're
not searching for them still? "We lost almost 1200 Americans in the
surge" is how you word what he was attempting to say.

Let's go
back to the surge. It allowed Iraq to be noted for a few seconds by a
body that did nothing to stop the Iraq War. Hagel did nothing to stop
it and that's on him. Senator John McCain: Senator Hagel,
members of this Committee will raise questions reflecting concerns with
your policy positions. They're not reasonable people disagreeing,
they're fundamental disagreements. Our concerns pertain to the quality
of your professional judgment and your world view on critical areas of
national security including security in the Middle East. With that in
mind, let me begin with your opposition to the surge in Iraq. 2006, we
lost -- Republicans lost -- the election and we began the surge and you
wrote a piece in the Washington Post called "Leaving Iraq Honorably."
In 2007, you said it's not in the national interest to deepen its
involvement. In January, 2007, in a rather bizarre exchange with
Secretary Rice, in the Foreign Relations Committee, after some nonsense
about Syria and crossing the border into Iran and Syria because of the
surge and a reference to Cambodia in 1970, you said, "When you set in
motion the kind of policy the president's talking about here, it's very,
very dangerous. Matter of fact, I have to say, Madam Secretary, I
think the speech given last night by this president represents the most
dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam. If it's
carried out, I will resist it." And then, of course, you continued on
and on for months afterwards talking about what a disaster the surge
would be, even to the point where it was clear the surge was
succeeding. In March 2008, you said, "Here the term quagmire could
apply. Some reject that term, but if that's not a quagmire, then what
is?" Even as late as August 29, 2011, in an interview -- 2011 -- in an
interview with the Financial Times, you said, "I disagreed with the
president -- Obama -- his decision to surge in Iraq, because I
disagreed with President Bush on the surge in Iraq." Do you -- do you
stand by that -- those -- those comments, Senator Hagel?

Senator Chuck Hagel: Well, Senator, I stand by them because I made them and --

Senator John McCain: -- stand by -- Were you right?

Chuck Hagel: Well --

Senator John McCain: Were you correct in your assessment?

Chuck Hagel: Well I would defer to the judgment of history to sort that out. But I'll --

Senator John McCain: I think -- this Committee deserves your judgment as to whether you were right or wrong about the surge.

Chuck Hagel: I'll explain why I made those comments and I believe I had but --

Senator John McCain: I want to know if you were right or wrong? That's a direct question, I expect a direct answer.

Chuck Hagel: The surge assisted in the objective. But-but if we review the record a little bit --

Senator
John McCain: Will you please answer the question? Were you correct or
incorrect when you said that the surge would be the most dangerous
foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam? Were you correct
or incorrect?

Chuck Hagel: My --

Senator John McCain: Yes or no?

Chuck Hagel: My reference to the surge being --

Senator
John McCain: Are you going to answer the question, Senator Hagel? The
question is: Were you right or wrong? That's a pretty straighforward
question.

Chuck Hagel: Well --

Senator John McCain: I would -- I would like to answer whether you were right or wrong and then you are free to elaborate.

Chuck Hagel: Well I'm not going to give you a "yes" or "no" answer on a lot of things today.

Senator John McCain: Well let the the record show that you refused to answer that question. Now please go ahead.

Chuck Hagel: Well, if you would like me to explain why --

Senator John McCain: No, I actually would like an answer. Yes or no?

Chuck Hagel: Well I'm not going to give you a yes or no. I think it's --

Senator John McCain: Okay.

Chuck
Hagel: -- far more complicated than that. As I've already said, my
answer is I'll defer that judgment to history. As to the comment I made
about the most dangerous foreign policy decision since Vietnam? Was
about not just the surge but the overall war of choice going into Iraq.
That particular decision that was made on the surge -- but more to the
point, our war in Iraq -- I think was the most fundamentally bad,
dangerous decision since Vietnam. Aside, uh, from the costs that
occurred in this country, uh, in blood and treasure, aside from what
that did to, uh, take our focus off of Afghanistan -- which in fact,
uh, was-was the original and real focus of a national threat to this
country -- uh, Iraq wa-wa-was not -- I always, uh, tried to frame all
the different issues before I made a decision on anything. Now just as
you said, Senator, we can have differences of opinion, uh, --

Senator John McCain: But --

Chuck Hagel: -- that's essentially why I took the position I did.

Senator
John McCain: It's a fundamental difference of opinion, Senator Hagel.
And Senator Graham and I and Senator [Joe] Lieberman -- when there were
59 votes in the United States Senate -- spent our time trying to
prevent that 60th. Thank God for Senator Lieberman. I think history
has already made a judgment about the surge, sir, and you're on the
wrong side of it. And your refusal to answer whether you were right or
wrong about it is going to have an impact on my judgment as to whether
to vote for your confirmation or not. I hope you will reconsider the
fact that you refused to answer a fundamental question about an issue
that took the lives of thousands of young Americans.

Chuck Hagel: Well, Senator, there was --there was more to it than just flooding a zone.

Senator John McCain: I'm asking about the surge, Senator Hagel.

Chuck
Hagel: I know you are and I'm trying to explain my position. The
beginning of the surge also factored in what General Allen had put into
place in Anbar Province -- the Sunni Awakening. We put over, as you
know, a hundred thousand young --

Senator John McCain: Senator
Hagel, I'm very aware of the history of the surge and the Anbar
Awakening and I also am aware that any casual observer will know that
the surge was the fundamental factor, led by two great leaders, General
Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker. . Chuck
Hagel: Well I don't know if-if that would have been required and cost
us over a thousand American lives and thousands of wounded.

Senator
John McCain: So you don't know if the surge would have been required?
Okay, Senator Hagel, let me go back -- to to Syria now. More than
60,000 people have been killed in Syria. Do you believe --

The
surge was a failure. That Hagel can't answer the question --
regardless of where he stands -- is disturbing. If you can't answer
that basic of a question, what questions will you be able to answer
before the Congress? We are aware that if Hagel's confirmed, he'll be
appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee to provide
testimony many times in the future, right?

I say the surge was a
failure. The US military did what was asked of them. And the military
was supposed to provide stability and security. They did that. Ethnic
cleansing -- popularly called "a civil war" -- had taken place (2006
through 2007) and violence went down. Some will argue that it went down
because the ethnic cleansing was over. No. As we've seen since, it
has not been over. The ethnic cleansing that takes place also creates a
'surge' in refugees -- Iraq becomes the largest refugee crisis in the
Middle East during this period. Over 4 million external refugees, many
displaced internally within the country as well. Others try to tie in
the Sahwa ("Awakening") and point that the purchasing of loyalty
(resistance fighters paid to stop attacking US equipment and US troops)
and that can be a factor as well. But the US military was given a task
and they performed it and they achieved their goal.

So why is the
surge a failure? Bully Boy Bush did not just send more troops over to
Iraq. He also gave 12 benchmarks to measure 'success' and Prime
Minister Nouri al-Maliki agreed to those benchmarks. The surge had two
parts, the military would provide security and stability and, during
this calmer period, US diplomatic staff would work with Iraqi
politicians so that the needed political actions could take place. What
was needed? That was defined in the benchmarks. (No surprise, the US
government was most interested in an oil and gas law.)

The US
military did what was asked of them and they were successful in that
task. But the space they successfully created was not utilized. Bully
Boy Bush was not speaking publicly about the ethnic cleansing. He was
concerned -- by his own remarks -- with creating the space that he just
knew would allow Iraq to move forward. That did not happen.

Is
that what Hagel believes? We don't know because he wouldn't answer. He
wouldn't answer what McCain rightly pointed out was a very basic
question. That's really bothersome. If you can't defend your
statements, how are you going to defend a department? If you can't
answer a basic question the Congress asks, how are you going to answer
tough questions from the Congress if confirmed? If you care so little
about being upfront with the American people (and members of Congress
are the representatives of the American people) during your nomination
period, are we supposed to believe that you'll suddenly be more
interested in being upfront after a confirmation vote?

Hagel's
confirmation hearing put to rest (for me) the issue of the "Jewish
lobby." It also provided a number of senators with the time to compete
for the title of Israel's BFF. But it also provided Hagel and Hagel --
his low energy level, his inability to answer basic questions --
actually raised more issues and questions than a confirmation hearing is
expected to.

Senator Claire McCaskill moved quickly through her
questioning and was probably one of the three strongest in the hearing
of any senator. (The weakest? Senator Joe Manchin who couldn't stop
whining or whimpering about wishing he could have served in the Senate
with Hagel -- at one point his voice quivered on this topic and you had
to wonder if Manchin has Daddy issues.) We'll jump in near the end of
McCaskill's exchange for a question that will determine his tenure if
he's confirmed and for an important issue that will be a huge issue in
the next four years.

Senator Claire McCaskill: . . . and
some people on the Committee are going, "Oh, here she goes on
contracting," but auditability of the Defense Dept. I know that you've
stated in some of the advanced policy questions that you want to hold
people accountable on auditability. I don't think most Americans
realize that as we face shrinking budgets and as we want to secure the
pre-eminance of our military and not hollow out the spending at the
Defense Dept, that auditability is a crucial ingredient to us being able
to figure out whether all the money being spent there is being spent
like Americans would want it to be spent. Can you reassure me that
auditability -- as prescribed by law, coming through this Committee --
that it needs to happen no later than 2017 -- can you make a commitment
to me today on the record, that that will be a priority of yours, making
sure that, as Secretary Panetta did and Secretary Gates before him,
that auditability will be an essential priority in your time at defense?

Chuck Hagel: As I told you, Senator, I will. Uh, I make that commitment to this Committee.

Senator
Claire McCaskill: And then turning to contracting, I have yet to have,
uhm, provided to me other than raw numbers that we spent any data that
would indicate that major infrastructure rebuilding as part of a
counter-insurgency strategy works. There are many things that work in a
counter-insurgency strategy and one of them, as it was originally posed
to me, back some six years ago on this Committee by General Petraeus
was that the CERP Funds -- the Commander Emergency Response Program --
that walking around money to fix plate glass windows and neighborhoods,
that that was an essential part of the COIN strategy. That morphed into
our military building major infrastructure projects without really any
data ever to indicate that the billions of dollars that we were spending
was in fact advancing our mission -- our military mission. In addition
to that, it is clear if you want to look at Iraq and the failures that
Iraq represents in some ways, one of the failures is the crumbling
investments that this country made in Iraq -- the health centers that
never opened, the water parks that sit crumbling, the power facilities
that were blown up before they even had an opportunity to operate. I
can go down billions of dollars of waste because we didn't do the
analysis on sustainability after we have left. I am convinced that we
have made the same mistakes in Afghanistan and I would like your
response to this issue of major infrastructure building while we are in a
conflict being conducted by our military -- not by AID, not by our
State Dept -- and whether or not you would make a commitment to come
back to this Committee with a report analyzing whether or not there is
data to support that aspect of the COIN strategy?

Chuck Hagel:
Well I will make that commitment and, uh, it is part of the larger, uh,
series of questions and, uh, factors always involved, uh, when, uh, a
nation gets uh-uh clearly committed as we were -- still are -- in
Afghanistan and were in Iraq for years. When you are at war, the
highest first priority is to take care of your people and uh, and,
uh-uh, as a result of that, uh, all the rest of the-the normal latitude
and guidance, uhm, theory and policy, uh, is secondary. And so I think
in both of those wars, uhm, because we got ourselves in so deep with so
many people and, uh, the welfare of our men and women was, uh,
paramount, we tried a lot of things. We had never been this way
before. We had never seen anything like these two situations. And, uh,
as a result, and you know, our Special Inspector Generals have come up
with billions and billions of dollars that are unaccounted for, uhm,
corruption, fraud, waste, abuse. Uh, it really is quite astounding. And
we'll stop him there. He's committed to a report of some form -- if
confirmed -- about the infrastructure building's impact on the invaded
land and the issue of open accountability with regards to spending. If
he is confirmed, those are two of the metrics by which he should be
measured while he holds the post of Secretary of Defense.

While
Joe Manchin (dubbed "Joe Manchild" by one friend in the press who
covered today's hearing) whimpered about the lost or stolen time he
could have spent with Hagel, he ignored the most pressing issues. Hagel
should have been asked over and over -- the way he was about Israel --
about something that actually has to do with the job: the crises in
DoD. That's the suicide crisis and that's the rape and assault crisis.

The only one to spend any time on either of these issues was
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand but even she had to waste everyone's time.
Israel, Afghanistan and personnel issues, she ranked as the three topics
-- in that order -- she wanted to ask about. But she quickly launched
into Iran. Iran and Israel were covered at length in the long hearing
before Gillibrand ever spoke. But maybe she just had to insist she had
"been one of the strongest advocates" for Israel? You know what the
military needs, they need a strong advocate for the victims of assault
and rape.

And though Gillibrand is getting applause for her
glancing comments on the issue of assault and rape, she was not their
strong advocate in the hearing today unless you just do the "by
comparison" verdict. From Iran and Israel, she went to Egypt, and
"okay, for my last minute, with regard to Afghanistan, we've heard . .
."

Easy, cheesy applause greeted Gillibrand's nonsense. Bridgette P. LaVictoire (Lez Get Real) can't quote
Gillibrand so I'll assume she's working from the same press release we
were sent. But unlike LaVictoire, I attended the hearing and I know
what Gillibrand said. The Service Women's Network rushed to applaud
Gillibrand who really only succeeded in reminding most of us that
Carolyn Maloney would have made a better US Senator. Here's what
they're applauding:Senator Kirsten Gillibrand: My last
question that I'll submit for the record but you and I have talked about
it obviously the personnel in our military is our most important
asset. And when we hear reports that there are upwards of 19,000 sexual
assaults in the military against women, it's unacceptable. Uhm, we
also have finally repealed Don't Ask, Don't Tell but it's difficult for a
military spouse to even go to a commissary and be on base or be
notified if a spouse is killed in action. I would need a strong
commitment from you that you will treat our military families and look
after them in the way that you would look after your own. I want you to
be concerned about every man and woman in the military, that their well
being is being looked after and seeing real advocacy and leadership,
not status quo, not implementing whatever we put forward but actually
fighting for them every single day.

Chuck Hagel: Well you have my complete commitment on that.

For
eight minutes, she went on about everything else before getting to her
so-called "last question." 19 words. She got applauded for 19 words.
She spent more than that vouching for sleep overs and pillow fights with
Israel. Come on, let's get serious. 19 words deserves a press
release? She wasted her time and everyone else's.

If assaults
matter -- and I believe they do -- you spend something more than 19
words on them in a hearing. Again, Iran and Israel were covered at
length over and over.

Maybe I'm supposed to dance for joy because
Gillibrand did mention it? If she'd given it serious time, maybe so.
But she really made a mockery out of the whole thing, if you ask me.

If
every website in the world is covering what Hagel thinks of Israel (and
today I'm sure many were), then the last thing that's needed is one
more doing the same. Equally true, if senator after senator is asking
the same questions, you need to spend your time asking something
different. Gillibrand deserves no praise for her performance in the
hearing. You will not read reports about her 'question' or her
'statements' due to some press conspiracy to cover up rape and assault.
The reason you won't read about it or hear about it is because she
didn't take it seriously. 19 words? That's embarrassing.

They should have applauded Senator Richard Blumenthal who took more time on this topic. Blumenthal is Ruth's Senator and she'll be covering it at her site tonight.

Turning to Iraq, this morning Alsumaria reported
that Reporters Without Borders and Iraq's JFO (Journalistic Freedoms
Observatory) are demanding the release of French journalist Nadir
Dendoune. From Monday's snapshot:As we noted this morning, Nadir
Dendoune, who holds dual Algerian and Australian citizenship was
covering Iraq for the fabled French newspaper Le Monde's monthly
magazine. His assignment was to document Iraq 10 years after the start
of the Iraq War. Alsumaria explains
the journalist was grabbed by authorities in Baghdad last week for the
'crime' of taking pictures. (Nouri has imposed a required permit,
issued by his government, to 'report' in Iraq.) All Iraq News adds the journalist has been imprisoned for over a week now without charges.

"The arbitrary jailing of a journalist is a
vestige of the Saddam Hussein regime that is completely out of place in Iraq's
democracy today," said CPJ's Middle East and North Africa Coordinator Sherif
Mansour. "Nadir Dendoune should be released immediately."The Iraqi Syndicate
for Journalists condemned Dendoune's detention, calling it a violation
of Iraqi law and the constitution and saying that it distorted the country's
image in front of the international community.

Reporters Without Borders and the
newly-formed Nadir Dendoune Support Committee call for the immediate
release of Nadir Dendoune,
a visiting reporter with French, Algerian and Australian triple
nationality who has been held in a Baghdad prison for the past eight
days.

Dendoune arrived in Iraq on 16 January to do a series of reports for the French monthly Le Monde Diplomatique and the magazine Le Courrier de l’Atlas.
According to the French foreign ministry, he was arrested on 23 January
while photographing a water installation in the southwest Baghdad
neighbourhood of Dora.

He has been held ever since without being charged.
Officially, he is alleged to have been taking photos of sensitive
locations without permission. He has not yet been allowed to receive a
visit from French consular officials based in Baghdad although a request
has been made by the French embassy. He managed to call a friend in
France yesterday to report that he had been jailed.

Reporters Without Borders and its partner organization
in Iraq, the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory, wrote yesterday to Prime
Minister Nouri Al-Maliki requesting more information about the
circumstances of Dendoune’s arrest and the charges against him.

The letter was handed in directly to the Iraqi
authorities in Baghdad. The two organizations asked the prime minister
to do everything in his power to ensure that Dendoune is released as
soon as possible.

The NGO Human Rights Watch has released "Iraq: A Broken Justice System" today and become the first in English to seriously address the treatment of
women and girls in Iraqi prisons and detention centers has been the
motivating factor for outrage in Iraq for months now and one of the main
underpinnings of the protests:

Most recently, in November, federal police invaded 11 homes in the
town of al-Tajji, north of Baghdad, and detained 41 people, including 29
children, overnight in their homes. Sources close to the detainees, who
requested anonymity, said police took 12 women and girls ages 11 to 60
to 6thBrigade headquarters and held them there for four days
without charge. The sources said the police beat the women and tortured
them with electric shocks and plastic bags placed over their heads
until they began to suffocate.Despite widespread outcry over abuse and rape of women in pre-trial
detention, the government has not investigated or held the abusers
accountable. In response to mass protests over the treatment of female
detainees, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki issued a pardon for 11
detainees. However, hundreds more women remain in detention, many of
whom allege they have been tortured and have not had access to a proper
defense.

They also note:

Iraq’s
leadership used draconian measures against opposition politicians,
detainees, demonstrators, and journalists, effectively squeezing the
space for independent civil society and political freedoms in Iraq,
Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2013.The number of violent civilian deaths in Iraq increased in 2012, for
the first time since 2009. Thousands of civilians and police were killed
in spates of violence, including targeted assassinations, amid a
political crisis that has dragged on since December 2011. Alongside the
uptick in violence, Iraqi security forces arbitrarily conducted mass
arrests and tortured detainees to extract confessions with little or no
evidence of wrongdoing.“As insurgent groups targeted innocent Iraqis in a multitude of
coordinated attacks throughout the year, Iraq’s security forces targeted
innocent civilians in mass campaigns of arbitrary arrests and abusive
interrogations,” said Sarah Leah Whitson,
Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “After decades of
dictatorship, occupation, and terrorism, the Iraqi people today face a
government that is slipping further into authoritarianism and doing
little to make them safer.”

Al Mada reports
preparations are beginning already for tomorrow's protests and that
organizers are speaking of solidarity with the Falluja martyrs. (Last Friday saw the Falluja Massacre -- seven people dead and sixty injured when the military opened fire on the protesters.) All Iraq News reports that the Falluja Criminal Court has announced arrest warrants for military personnel involved in the shootings.

From yesterday's snapshot:Meanwhile in Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki is stripping political rivals of their protection according to charges made to Alsumaria.
Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha, a leader in the Sahwa forces, told the network
that he had lost his bodyguards and when he asked why he was told it was
on the orders of Nouri al-Maliki. What seems to be happening is this:
government forces providing protection to various politicians
throughout Iraq are being ordered by Nouri to return to Baghdad out of
some fear -- real or imagined -- on the part of Nouri that he's about to
be overthrown.

Lastly, the rains continue in Iraq. Alsumaria reports
that rain's expected in Baghdad today and for the next three. This is
not a minor issue. Not only have Baghdad streets been flooded, there
have been dangers of electrical shocks, street lights have been out,
outside of Baghdad there have been homes collapsing and much worse. All Iraq News notes
that 1500 families in Baiji (Salahuddin Province) have been evacuated
from their homes due to flooding and they are currently in tents and
receiving food and aid from the Iraqi Red Crescent Society. All Iraq News notes a dam collapsed in Salahuddin Province (a village near Tikrit) and the provincial government is evacuating residents in Samarra. If you click here, you can watch an Alsumuria video of the flooding in Baghdad. In most places, the water comes up to the knees.

About Me

I'm a black working mother. I love to laugh and between work and raising kids, I need a good laugh. I'm also a community member of The Common Ills. Shout outs to any Common Ills community members stopping by. Big shout out to C.I. for all the help getting this started. I am not married to Thomas Friedman, credit me with better taste, please. This site is a parody.